Techies voice concern as layoffs loom large

Work pressure, uncertainty of job and long hours of work are the factors that rule a techie’s life said most of the engineers who had assembled near Wipro Circle in HinjewadiTNN | July 15, 2017, 12:30 IST

Pune: Work pressure, uncertainty of job and long hours of work are the factors that rule a techie’s life said most of the engineers who had assembled near Wipro Circle in Hinjewadi on Friday to pay homage to Gopalkrishna Durgaprasad Gowda, who committed suicide due to the fear of losing his job.

The suicide of the 25-year-old techie has triggered a discussion about the uncertainty in the IT industry which experiences frequent layoffs.

“These layoffs happen so frequently that there is a constant fear among employees of losing their jobs. Every time a client withdraws a project or the company is unable to get a new project, they fire people. How can the incapability of the company decide our future?” asks Deepak Patil, who had arranged the candle march but could not conduct it as they were denied permission. Several IT employees participated in the vigil.

“This (suicide of Gowda) was one unfortunate event, but are we going to wait for more such deaths to understand that the layoffs are affecting not only the professional lives but also the personal lives of employees,” said Hrishikesh Kadam (27), who has been in the IT profession of past four years.

Shubham Pardhi, another IT employee, said uncertainty is not the only factor that dominates the sector. “They say that we have to work for eight hours but they give us work that takes nothing less than 10-12 hours. Also, a person is given job based on the process that these companies follow and not the skills that the person possesses,” he added.

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After PSU banks, the government is likely to infuse capital in two chronically ill telecom PSUs BSNL and MTNL, and the Union Cabinet is likely to take a decision on 4G spectrum allocation to them by the third week of the current month after DoT places the note before it for consideration.

At a high-level meeting at the PMO late Tuesday, it was also decided that the two telcos will frame a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) to reduce their employee strength, which will be followed by a reduction in the retirement age to 58.